St. Tammany Parish school board to vote on new teacher salary plan

The St. Tammany school board will vote Thursday on a new teacher salary system that would give financial incentives contingent on a teacher's classroom performance and a school's overall improvement, shifting away from the current system of doling out pay raises based on years of experience -- a change in policy required by state law. All 70 school systems...

The St. Tammany school board will vote Thursday on a new teacher salary system that would give financial incentives contingent on a teacher's classroom performance and a school's overall improvement, shifting away from the current system of doling out pay raises based on years of experience -- a change in policy required by state law. All 70 school systems across Louisiana must approve new salary plans by Jan. 1 under recent education reforms.

It appears likely that the St. Tammany Parish board, which has been a vocal opponent of Gov. Bobby Jindal's sweeping school reforms, will reluctantly approve the change for the 2013-2014 school year.

Superintendent Trey Folse said he and other administrators are working to be supportive of the parish's 3,200 teachers as they face a new state-mandated evaluation system that will now impact their pay.

St. Tammany Parish School Superintendent Trey Folse reads to school children at Cypress Cove Elementary School Tuesday October 9, 2012. David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune

"Like anything that's new, the anxiety level becomes high," Folse said. "That's what we're trying to do, as a school system, with our principals who are working with our teachers, to say 'we know this is new for you.' You're talking about somebody's profession, then you're talking about the amount of money they make. This is just a time of high anxiety for teachers."

Under the proposed plan, each of St. Tammany Parish's 3,200 teachers would be eligible for up to a $400 increase every year. But unlike the current system, raises would not be automatic from year to year.

School officials say they hope to increase the maximum possible raise as more money becomes available in the budget, giving more financial incentive.

Salaries will be focused on a new teacher evaluation system being implemented this year. In the spring, each teacher will receive one of four performance ratings: "ineffective," "effective emerging," "effective proficient" and "highly effective."

Every teacher who avoids an "ineffective" rating would receive 25 percent of the raise -- currently $100 of the $400 -- for gaining another year of experience. Another 10 percent -- or $40 -- is added to that for teachers with advanced college degrees.

A teacher who earns the second-highest rating of "effective proficient" would receive 25 percent of the raise. A teacher who earns the top rating of "highly effective" would receive 40 percent of the raise.

Teachers would also be rewarded for their schools' overall performance ever year: a teacher can get 10 percent of the raise if the school improves its annual score by 5 points or more and another 15 percent of the raise if a school meets its overall goal that year.

To earn the full $400, a teacher must have an advanced degree, achieve the top performance rating, and work at a school that achieved its annual improvement goal and increased its score by at least 5 points.

School officials said that in creating a plan for St. Tammany Parish the staff wanted to meet the requirements of the law while keeping it as similar to the current system as possible.

"We wanted to give some credit for experience," said Peter Jabbia, assistant superintendent for human resources. "We wanted to give the teachers an opportunity to earn some money even if they were not ranked highly effective -- as long as they were not ineffective."

Jabbia said money granted based on teachers' and schools' performance scores are considered stipends and do not become part of a teacher's base pay.

The school board gave the plan preliminary approval last week at a committee-as-a-whole meeting, although some board members said they weren't happy about what the state is requiring.

"I'm glad I'm not teaching anymore," said board member John Lamarque.

Board member Peggy Seeley said the board should call for another meeting with state legislators about getting the law reversed.

"It seems like it's one issue after another coming up regarding education," Seeley said. "Getting these laws changed is important."

Teachers did not receive a salary increase this school year after the board implemented a pay freeze in the midst of a budget crunch. Folse said the board has the option to approve the new salary system as required by law, but freeze the pay increases again, if necessary.

If every teacher in St. Tammany Parish received the full raise, that would equal a total of $1.3 million.

The board is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Thursday at the C. J. Schoen Administrative Complex, 321 N. Theard St. in Covington.